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Original poster

If you forget your mask...

251 replies

AlrightThereSkippy · 03/09/2021 10:22

And are going somewhere indoors, like the shops or a play centre, are you still running back to the house to get it or not?

Just curious what people tend to be doing.

It feels like a whole new mask etiquette is happening now!

OP posts:
BigPyjamas · 03/09/2021 20:25

@Peteycat

They actually are. I know this as I did a quick approximate count when out shopping in town.

I was surprised.

But it's a middle class intellectual type place so not hugely surprising.

Bobholll · 03/09/2021 20:32

No. I rarely wear mine anymore. I’m in Yorkshire in a very middle class area & mask wearing is pretty much zero. It’s odd to see people in them now. And I’ve been out & about a lot this summer with my kids & no-one was wearing them at the kids activity places of varying kinds. Admittedly a lot outdoors but no-one put them on to go into the cafe or toilet or shop..

herecomesthsun · 03/09/2021 20:33

[quote BigPyjamas]@Peteycat

They actually are. I know this as I did a quick approximate count when out shopping in town.

I was surprised.

But it's a middle class intellectual type place so not hugely surprising.[/quote]
Do you think it is more or less intellectual to wear a mask? Grin

PrincessNutNuts · 03/09/2021 20:35

@AlrightThereSkippy

And are going somewhere indoors, like the shops or a play centre, are you still running back to the house to get it or not?

Just curious what people tend to be doing.

It feels like a whole new mask etiquette is happening now!

I keep a pack of surgical type blue masks in my bag just in case I ever forget or stop it or something.

At the hospital the other day with my aunt they were asking people to change their cloth ones for surgical masks at the entrance.

But my cloth ones fit my face really well so I put the paper surgical mask on top. I probably should have done it the other way round.

Auntie's is a respirator so they were ok with that.

I live in a "mask on" area. No one wants another lockdown so we do what we can.

EileenGC · 03/09/2021 20:37

I have plenty of backups in all the hidden pockets of my bags or coats, but that’s because I live somewhere they’re still compulsory.

When I’ve been in the UK this summer yes, I’ve still gone back to get it the rare occasion I didn’t have it on me.

I’m not scared of Covid, double vaccinated and would happily catch it once and for all, but I can’t afford to isolate and lose work if I test positive. It’s enough 80% of people around aren’t wearing one, so I need to protect myself (with specific masks that protect the wearer too) as much as I can. If I travel back to the other European countries I work in and test positive, it’s going to be a nightmare.

Not to mention I refuse to test positive on any day 2 test whilst out here.

Original poster
AlrightThereSkippy · 03/09/2021 20:40

I really don't think this is a class thing...we are in a really affluent town in the home counties (we are not so affluent but you know). People here have been really reckless about covid. At the fancy gym in town I saw so many, very elderly, well heeled people not bothering with masks. This was in summer 2020!

In my much more down-market gym, masks wearing was heavily enforced. The place I was today was vay naice and middle class, but most people weren't wearing masks, which is probably why I forgot about mine.

So we poor people with just the one degree aren't necessarily the ones being covidiots, as popular an idea as that is with some snobs people Grin. I love it when people imply it though, as they think they're being clever and insulting people who don't stick to the rules when actually they are also insulting people who aren't middle class Hmm

OP posts:
Againstmachine · 03/09/2021 20:44

The main reason I wear one is for other people's comfort.

I don't care about other people's comfort, same as they never gave a toss bout other people pre covid.

BigPyjamas · 03/09/2021 20:48

@herecomesthsun

I'm definitely not an intellectual but the more academic people I vaguely know (Drs, Profs - university town) all seem to be the more cautious ones. In my tiny snapshot of the population at least.

I'm happy to wear one if everyone else is (to make them more comfortable really) but otherwise very happy not to.

MrsSkylerWhite · 03/09/2021 21:10

I still can’t fathom the elderly or the over weight middle aged folk most at risk that are going maskless, they’re putting an awful lot of faith into the vaccines considering today’s breakdown of hospitalisations in the over 50s being 61% double vaccinated. “

This.

Where we are, small NW coastal town, the majority are still wearing masks in indoor spaces. Almost without exception, those who aren’t are elderly, obese or disabled. (I of course appreciate that some people simply can’t: with a morbidly obese husband though (who wears an FFP3), I know that many can but just don’t want to)

Young people have been fantastic for the past 18 months and in my experience continue to take their social responsibilities far more seriously than older generations.

Againstmachine · 03/09/2021 21:25

I see plenty oldies wearing masks and Young not.

No one has social responsibility it's a construct you just made up.

ActonSquirrel · 03/09/2021 23:18

@Againstmachine

I see plenty oldies wearing masks and Young not.

No one has social responsibility it's a construct you just made up.

Oldies Hmm
MrsSkylerWhite · 03/09/2021 23:20

Againstmachine

No one has social responsibility it's a construct you just made up.”

No, it isn’t. We all have social responsibility.

Thewiseoneincognito · 03/09/2021 23:56

@Bobholll

No. I rarely wear mine anymore. I’m in Yorkshire in a very middle class area & mask wearing is pretty much zero. It’s odd to see people in them now. And I’ve been out & about a lot this summer with my kids & no-one was wearing them at the kids activity places of varying kinds. Admittedly a lot outdoors but no-one put them on to go into the cafe or toilet or shop..
How depressing. Your whole area is a glaring example of why we’ll end up back in restrictions. You’re going to have a big readjustment period getting used to them again once autumn arrives. It may be middle class but it sounds like a fools paradise.
LookAtMoiPloise · 04/09/2021 01:16

Am I hell!

AlixandraTheGreat · 04/09/2021 02:10

@Bobholll

No. I rarely wear mine anymore. I’m in Yorkshire in a very middle class area & mask wearing is pretty much zero. It’s odd to see people in them now. And I’ve been out & about a lot this summer with my kids & no-one was wearing them at the kids activity places of varying kinds. Admittedly a lot outdoors but no-one put them on to go into the cafe or toilet or shop..

Is this some type of ... boast?

Whammyyammy · 04/09/2021 13:10

Nope, and i have only wore a mask whilst flying, as airlines still insisting. Unless you're drinking or eating. The airline sold a lot of coffee on my last couple of flights..id say 75% of passengers were drinking coffee the whole 2 hour flight.

Skinnytailedsquirrel · 04/09/2021 13:20

I won't go in without a mask. I think it shows respect. Imagine some shoppers might be unable to have the vaccine. They must be terrified.

seaandsandcastles · 04/09/2021 13:22

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

I won't go in without a mask. I think it shows respect. Imagine some shoppers might be unable to have the vaccine. They must be terrified.
You know covid isn’t going away, right? Everyone is going to have to live with it. We can’t wear masks and be terrified forever.
WombatChocolate · 04/09/2021 13:26

Strikes me as a key way people show if they are considerate of others or not.

Most people are in a shop a few minutes. Wearing the mask isn’t a huge hardship for most (appreciate some are exempt…no problem with that) and just shows some consideration for the many who are still nervous.

But lots are very keen on just doing what they want…that’s only consideration.

Most shops now have a sign outside that says something like ‘please wear a mask out of respect for others’ ….saw that outside Morrison’s this morning…or ‘Mask wearing is voluntary now but we would encourage you to wear one for the comfort of others’.

It is everyone’s choice now and some people are only interested in what suits them/they feel comfortable with. I could understand it more, if what was being requested was a huge sacrifice from people, but actually wearing a mask for the few minutes most people are in a shop (longer if supermarket shopping) just doesn’t seem a big sacrifice really.

But I know not everyone agrees..l.clearly, from what is seen outside and on this thread.

lanbro · 04/09/2021 13:33

I wore one in London on the transport, and Wear one the odd time I get the bus at home but in general I don't wear one, and haven't since the rules changed.

ilovesooty · 04/09/2021 14:54

Thankfully the last couple of flights I've taken weren't full of people determined to use eating and drinking to avoid mask wearing.

MiaAnnabell3 · 04/09/2021 14:58

I haven't worn a mask since Freedom Day except to a hospital appointment and a charity shop where I know the volunteers are elderly and nervous.
Everywhere else I don't bother so definitely wouldn't be running back to grab one.

Whammyyammy · 04/09/2021 16:50

@ilovesooty

Thankfully the last couple of flights I've taken weren't full of people determined to use eating and drinking to avoid mask wearing.
Its more difficult to drink through a mask!
LolalolaLola · 04/09/2021 17:39

I'm in Scotland and I still wear one. Signs are still up in shops here, etc., people wear them on public transport, and I suppose I see more people wearing them in town than not.

I actually don't care about wearing one anyway. They are great for introverts, I've saved money on lippy, and I had a cold sore the other week... much more practical than that old Zovirax ad where the woman kept her motorbike helmet on indoors, lol

greentea5 · 04/09/2021 18:45

For those saying they don't believe masks work, there are plenty of studies showing they do:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33087517/
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327717/
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2020.1862409

You don't know if the person near you on the bus or in the shop might be a nurse or care worker who might accidentally pass on asymtomatic COVID to those they care for, someone who is clinically vulnerable or someone on a zero hours contract who will lose money if they have to isolate. If you can wear a mask (and I know not everyone can) wearing it will help protect those around you and will offer you some protection as well. Double masking (wearing a cloth mask over a disposable mask) offers even more protection.